Merck says US court dismisses Vioxx class action

<p>The judge found that the securities action should be dismissed because all of the plaintiffs&#0039; claims were time-barred under the applicable statutes of limitations.<br /><br />The class action was filed by shareholders and claimed that the company had misrepresented the safety of Vioxx.<br /><br />The filing by shareholders followed a letter from the FDA in 2001 that suggested Merck was misrepresenting study data on the painkiller. Further, the earliest securities complaint regarding Vioxx had been made in 2003, allowing Merck to argue that the class filing was untimely.<br /><br />In his ruling the US district judge Stanley Chesler said the court finds that it is clear that storm warnings of fraud existed more than two years before this complaint was filed.</p>